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'Jacqueline Carey has created a postmodern fable of enormous scope and force. Santa Olivia is a cautionary tale of people caught in a web of lies and creeping terror and a love song to the beauty and power of being different. At the novel's heart the the kind of grace Carey is known for: an illumination of the strength that lies hidden inside all of us' - Eric Van Lustbader 'Santa Olivia is a terrific book that is both a romantic romp - and a deep piece of literature that left me breathless and cheering' - Patricia Briggs
Product Description
Loup Garron was born and raised in Santa Olivia, an isolated, disenfranchised town next to a US military base inside a DMZ buffer zone between Texas and Mexico. Loup's father was one of a group of men genetically manipulated and used by the US government as a weapon, engineered to have superhuman strength, speed, sensory capability, stamina and a total lack of fear, and Loup, named for and sharing her father's wolf-like qualities, is marked as an outsider. After her mother dies, Loup goes to live among the misfit orphans at the parish church, where they seethe from the injustices visited upon the locals by the soldiers. Eventually, the orphans find an outlet for their frustrations: They form a vigilante group to support Loup Garron who, costumed as their patron saint, Santa Olivia, uses her special abilities to avenge the town. Aware that she could lose her freedom, and possibly her life, Loup is determined to fight to redress the wrongs her community has suffered. And like the reincarnation of their patron saint, she will bring hope to all of Santa Olivia.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In the future, Mexico has gone to war against the United States, necessitating the creation of buffer zones. Santa Olivia lies within this buffer zone, the inhabitants stripped of all rights, privileges, and luxuries, no longer citizens of the United States. Carmen Garron is one of those citizens, looking for love against the odds, and temporarily finding it twice. Her second love has been genetically engineered to have superhuman strength, speed, sight, but has a complete lack of fear. He is also infertile, or at least they think so until Carmen conceives a child, named Loup Garron for her fugitive father. As Loup grows to maturity in a church, she takes on the guise of Santa Olivia, providing justice to the town in a way no one else imagined, and taking huge risks to stand up for the rights she knows they deserve.
If this novel had not had Jacqueline Carey emblazoned on the cover, I would never have realized it was her. Her writing is still gorgeous, but in a totally different way from her Kushiel series. It's rougher, to match this serious urban fantasy, but still retains a beauty and grace that is unmistakably Carey once it's more carefully examined. When she uses a bird in Carmen's heart to describe her youthful hope and love in an elegant, but not melodramatic way, I fell in love:
'In between the fourth and fifth rounds, Carmen Garron slipped through the crowd, made her way to the outside of the soldier's corner. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her.
"Hi there." He slid one muscled, sweaty arm through the ropes, touched her hand with his gloved fist.
The bird in her heart warbled.'
I could read Jacqueline Carey's books all year and never get bored.
This is a completely different type of urban fantasy than most of what is found on the bookstore shelf. It is a gritty, hard reality, a world in which there is no hope. There are no vampires or witches, just genetically engineered humans who are ostacized from society. Somehow, Loup Garron shines in this world, an enigmatic main character that is different enough to make her special and human enough to make her real. Loup provides not only hope to the people of Santa Olivia, but to readers; she's the embodiment of determination and spirit. The werewolf, without turning into a wolf, concept is cleverly done even if rarely mentioned. Loup's strength sets her apart but her desire to be at least mostly normal brings her into a group of orphans who provide the backbone for her inspiring journey. She doesn't quite fit in, but that just makes us love her all the more. Meanwhile, the town of Santa Olivia is a terrifying potential reality. It's unlikely but just real enough to strike fear in our hearts and cause us to hope for Loup's success.
To be honest, I don't love this book as much as I love any of the Kushiel's Legacy series. In some sense, though, that is like comparing apples to oranges, since they are so different in feel, setting, scope, and character development. Santa Olivia is a great read all on its own and that is how it should be judged. As such, I think Carey made a wise move in trying out a different kind of fantasy. A sequel has been proposed, but this book, while somewhat open-ended, ends satisfactorily and left me hopeful for the future.
If this novel had not had Jacqueline Carey emblazoned on the cover, I would never have realized it was her. Her writing is still gorgeous, but in a totally different way from her Kushiel series. It's rougher, to match this serious urban fantasy, but still retains a beauty and grace that is unmistakably Carey once it's more carefully examined. When she uses a bird in Carmen's heart to describe her youthful hope and love in an elegant, but not melodramatic way, I fell in love:
'In between the fourth and fifth rounds, Carmen Garron slipped through the crowd, made her way to the outside of the soldier's corner. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her.
"Hi there." He slid one muscled, sweaty arm through the ropes, touched her hand with his gloved fist.
The bird in her heart warbled.'
I could read Jacqueline Carey's books all year and never get bored.
This is a completely different type of urban fantasy than most of what is found on the bookstore shelf. It is a gritty, hard reality, a world in which there is no hope. There are no vampires or witches, just genetically engineered humans who are ostacized from society. Somehow, Loup Garron shines in this world, an enigmatic main character that is different enough to make her special and human enough to make her real. Loup provides not only hope to the people of Santa Olivia, but to readers; she's the embodiment of determination and spirit. The werewolf, without turning into a wolf, concept is cleverly done even if rarely mentioned. Loup's strength sets her apart but her desire to be at least mostly normal brings her into a group of orphans who provide the backbone for her inspiring journey. She doesn't quite fit in, but that just makes us love her all the more. Meanwhile, the town of Santa Olivia is a terrifying potential reality. It's unlikely but just real enough to strike fear in our hearts and cause us to hope for Loup's success.
To be honest, I don't love this book as much as I love any of the Kushiel's Legacy series. In some sense, though, that is like comparing apples to oranges, since they are so different in feel, setting, scope, and character development. Santa Olivia is a great read all on its own and that is how it should be judged. As such, I think Carey made a wise move in trying out a different kind of fantasy. A sequel has been proposed, but this book, while somewhat open-ended, ends satisfactorily and left me hopeful for the future.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I came to this book as someone who'd loved Carey's Kushiel trilogies. What sparkled in those books was the rich vivid characters, the beautifully depicted place settings and - in the first three books - the engaging, sparky voice of the first person narrator Phedre.
This is a very different book. Firstly, it's written in the third person. Carey does this fairly well but it lacks intimacy. This led me to a problem with the book's central character of Loup Garron. Loup has gifts beyond the norm thanks to the genetic engineering that produced her fugitive father. This is essentially her story as she approaches adulthood, although there is some interesting (if not emotionally arresting) background given at the start about her mother and brother. In terms of timeframe, the book appears to have been set at some not to distant future point following an outbreak of civil (multinational?) war with it's frontiers in the US. There is disease and suffering in spades.
Loup grows up in what appears to be no man's land, not fully a US citizen and having to hide her strength and agility and total lack of fear from those around her. And therein lies my second problem - Loup is a very self contained character and it is difficult to get under her skin. She falls in lust (I hesitate to say love), experiences life changing plot devices, and is obviously going to be spirited off to another part of her 'journey' at the close of the book.
There is a good sci-fi story in here - as someone who prefers fantasy and big (but not soppy) emotion, I wasn't hooked at I felt the characterisation did not live up to my expectations from Carey's earlier work. That said, it shows promise and perhaps the second book - which I assume will follow - will open up Loup's rather one dimensional character somewhat.
If you are new to Carey's work and like fantasy, I would suggest you start with Kushiel's Dart as an introduction as Santa Olivia may dissuade you from any future Carey reading. Which would be a shame...
This is a very different book. Firstly, it's written in the third person. Carey does this fairly well but it lacks intimacy. This led me to a problem with the book's central character of Loup Garron. Loup has gifts beyond the norm thanks to the genetic engineering that produced her fugitive father. This is essentially her story as she approaches adulthood, although there is some interesting (if not emotionally arresting) background given at the start about her mother and brother. In terms of timeframe, the book appears to have been set at some not to distant future point following an outbreak of civil (multinational?) war with it's frontiers in the US. There is disease and suffering in spades.
Loup grows up in what appears to be no man's land, not fully a US citizen and having to hide her strength and agility and total lack of fear from those around her. And therein lies my second problem - Loup is a very self contained character and it is difficult to get under her skin. She falls in lust (I hesitate to say love), experiences life changing plot devices, and is obviously going to be spirited off to another part of her 'journey' at the close of the book.
There is a good sci-fi story in here - as someone who prefers fantasy and big (but not soppy) emotion, I wasn't hooked at I felt the characterisation did not live up to my expectations from Carey's earlier work. That said, it shows promise and perhaps the second book - which I assume will follow - will open up Loup's rather one dimensional character somewhat.
If you are new to Carey's work and like fantasy, I would suggest you start with Kushiel's Dart as an introduction as Santa Olivia may dissuade you from any future Carey reading. Which would be a shame...
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I loved Carey's writing so much. It's in third person and always from Loup's POV. So much detail is packed in but it's not overpowering. I got complete impressions of the characters, the town and the difficulties of being forgotten by the rest of the world.
This book is so hard to categorise. It is part fantasy, seems to appeal to the urban fantasy types and would almost be YA if it wasn't for the sex and swearing. It's also like reading Rocky in parts, what with all of the boxing and training. I think it has sci-fi elements with the whole genetic engineering thing going on. I wish that particular plot point was explored more but it may be covered in the sequel.
On top of it all, it is basically a werewolf novel without the wolf. Even Loup's name (pronounced 'Lou') is a play on loup-garou, the French for 'werewolf'.
The main characters of the orphans were well rounded. Despite the fact there are seven or so of them, they all had distinct personalities. To be honest, the vast majority of the main characters were well rounded.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I would have loved to have read more of the boxing finale, being a bit of a fan of the sport. And there were questions I would have liked answered but, again, the sequel may answer these.
This book is so hard to categorise. It is part fantasy, seems to appeal to the urban fantasy types and would almost be YA if it wasn't for the sex and swearing. It's also like reading Rocky in parts, what with all of the boxing and training. I think it has sci-fi elements with the whole genetic engineering thing going on. I wish that particular plot point was explored more but it may be covered in the sequel.
On top of it all, it is basically a werewolf novel without the wolf. Even Loup's name (pronounced 'Lou') is a play on loup-garou, the French for 'werewolf'.
The main characters of the orphans were well rounded. Despite the fact there are seven or so of them, they all had distinct personalities. To be honest, the vast majority of the main characters were well rounded.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I would have loved to have read more of the boxing finale, being a bit of a fan of the sport. And there were questions I would have liked answered but, again, the sequel may answer these.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Her best work yet!
I have read and much enjoyed Carey's first Kushiel trilogy; I enjoy her writing style; her characters and often convoluted plots and I chose this book, not sure if I liked the plot... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Penledor
Disappointed
I love Jacqueline Carey's books, but unfortunately I just didn't enjoy this story. There was no "soul" to the characters and I found myself not caring about them. Read more
Published 22 months ago by S. Gordon
I expected so much more
I am also a huge Kushiel fan, so was very excited about a new Jacqueline Carey novel considering her work was "an intoxicating mix of intrigue, eroticism and fantasy ...". Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2010 by Nell
Simply marvelous
Let me start by saying that this book is very much unlike Carey's other books and to be able to pull of such a change of voice is a credit to her writing skill. Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2009 by Coar
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